Sustaining and Defending the LDS Temple

prayer

This past Sunday afternoon I came across a piece of music that moved me to tears. I don’t get emotional often, so I was struck by the overwhelming power this song has, which I believe is the result of an exquisitely crafted resonance of lyric, melody, arrangement, and vocal talent combined in perfect harmony. It’s one of those songs that seems to reach down into the deepest parts of my experience and speak to me on a level usually untapped. I immediately took a closer look at the song, trying to unpack its meaning, and why it moves me so. I hope to share some of the beauty that I found.

The song’s title is “Homeward Bound.” No, not that one, by Simon & Garfunkel. While a good song, it’s not that kind of song. Rather, the song I heard is by the composer Marta Keen Thompson, who currently lives in Las Vegas. She wrote the lyrics and music to this song, and this seems to be her most well-known composition. Marta wrote some about her song, and who has performed it, on a Facebook page dedicated to the song: [Read more…]

Cover of The Creed Haymond Story: How He Learned That the Word of Wisdom Is True, by Jay Todd

Since I was young I’ve often held as my claim to fame that I am distantly related to Creed Haymond (1893-1983, first cousin three times removed), the early 20th century track athlete, whose story about the Word of Wisdom has been told several times over the pulpit in General Conference. I thought that was pretty neat, and there was a short children’s book published,The Creed Haymond Story: How He Learned That the Word of Wisdom Is True, by Jay Todd, which I often read as a child.

Over the years, I’ve learned a little more about Creed Haymond. Apparently he was accepted to compete with the U.S. team at the 1920 Summer Olympics, but he was injured before the competition. He eventually became a dentist, and served in many capacities within the Church, including as mission president in the Northern States Mission, general board member of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association, and a patriarch (while President James E. Faust served as president of the Cottonwood Stake). His wife, Elna Parkinson Haymond, served as a member of the Relief Society General Board. [Read more…]

Ancient Israelite temple vestiture and ritual. The High Priest wears his special linen garments, sash and turban during his once per year entry into the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. He approaches the Ark of the Covenant beyond the veil with the incense shovel in one hand, the smoke representing the prayers of the Israelites, and small vessel of bull’s blood in the other hand, the sin offering (atonement) on behalf of all the Israelites. Image based on Leviticus 16 and Exodus 25-31 and Exodus 35-40.

Professor William J. Hamblin has offered some good starting points in considering the relationship between the ancient Israelite temple ritual and the modern day LDS temple endowment. It is from this vantage point that we should approach trying to understand these ancient ritual systems and the connections they might have with the Latter-day Saints temple ritual.

“When considering the possible relationship between ancient Israelite temple system and the LDS Endowment, the first thing to note is the basic purpose of the ancient temple was to reconcile Israel with God and bring all Israel (represented by the twelve stones inscribed with the tribal names) back into the presence of God (that is recapitulating the Sinai theophany), symbolically represented by the Holy Place and Holy of Holies within the veil.

“The second thing to note is that Israel had exoteric rituals in the outer courtyard of the temple which could be witnessed by all (though only priests officiated). Esoteric rituals performed inside the temple itself could only be performed and witnessed by priests. LDS Endowment broadly corresponds to the esoteric rituals performed inside the temple, not the exoteric rituals performed outside. The ancient exoteric Israelite temple rituals correspond with the LDS weekly sacrament (the bread/wine offering of the Israelite temple).” (William Hamblin, Mormon Scripture Explorations)

Another important point to realize is that Christ was the last great blood sacrifice when He came in the meridian of time and offered the Atonement, which ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood (3 Ne. 9:19; cf. Mosiah 13:27; Alma 34:13; 3 Ne. 15:2–10). Since Christ was the last blood sacrifice (all precursors pointing to Him), from that point onward the outward nature of sacrificial ritual changed, but still pointing towards Christ, and still a sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit (3 Ne. 9:20–22; Psalms 51:16–17; Psalms 34:18).

See the gallery below for various artists’ depictions of the rituals inside the ancient Israelite temple. Click each image to enlarge. [Read more…]

Above is a film portrayal of the prayer of Jesus from John 17, which is a conclusion of his Last Discourse given to his disciples on the eve of the Passover. This discourse stretches from John 13 through chapter 17, with the prayer at the end, comprising chapter 17. This scene comes from a 2003 film entitled “The Gospel of John,” and takes it’s text from the American Bible Society‘s Good News Bible, which loses some of the intricate meaning in Christ’s words, but otherwise I think it is well done. I’m looking forward to the Church’s version when it is added to the collection of Bible Videos, which will use the King James Version directly (here you can see the Last Supper, which is the beginning of the discourse from John 13).

This seems to be a pretty basic question, with a Primary answer. We all know what tithing is, right? I mean, even the etymology of the word tithe itself, coming from the Old English teoþa or even earlier to the Hebrew tithes in Malachi 3:8 (ma`aser or מַעֲשֵׂר, or an even earlier root `asar or עֶשֶׂר meaning “ten”), means a “tenth” part. What could be more simple? This seems to be a commandment that we could easily say we keep or do not keep. We either give a tenth part of our income annually, or we don’t. Is there any more to it?

The truth of the matter is that everything we think we know about tithing is most likely wrong. This could come as a shock to some, but when you get right down to what tithing is, as revealed by the Lord through the prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation, it is not what we commonly think it is. Personally, I think this is unfortunate, because we do not know what the Lord revealed and commanded, and if we are thus ignorant, how do we expect to be able to follow His word? What does the Lord say? What do our scriptures teach? [Read more…]

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